A startup on Tuesday unveiled plans at the Apple Expo here to build a distributed supercomputer cluster that could use some thousands of Apple Computer Inc.'s Xserve servers. The high-performance network will be installed along Europe's Internet backbone, startup Omneta plc. said.

According to Omneta Chief Technical Officer Tony Clark, the startup, Apple and the European network powerhouse Interoute in October will stage a proof-of-concept cluster involving both Xserve servers and Xserve RAID arrays. If successful, the trial will be extended over the coming year to involve servers placed within Interoute's facilities, possibly involving as many as 150 data centers across 60 EU cities.